6 THE GOAT. 



domestic Goat in his external form, but surpasses it in sta- 

 ture. He is protected by a coat of lank hair covering a down 

 of delicate wool, which falls off in the warmer season. The 

 colour of his fur is a grayish dusky brown, fawn-coloured on 

 the belly, and whitish on the inner part of the thighs, the in- 

 side of the ears, and a part of the tail. He has a beard, and 

 a dark brown ridge of bristly hairs extending from the neck 

 to the tail, which is shdrt and naked underneath. He has 

 large black horns, bending backwards, and turning outward 

 towards the points. His hoofs are large, widely cleft, and 

 sharp at the exterior edges, so that he can fix himself se- 

 curely on the points and shelving sides of rocks. This con- 

 formation, joined to his surpassing power of balancing his 

 body, and the great strength of his posterior limbs, enables 

 him to make those amazing bounds from crag to crag, by 

 which he is enabled to traverse the wilderness of rocks which 

 he inhabits. He has been seen to spring up the steep side 

 of a precipice of many feet, nay, striking the sides to give 

 himself a fresh impetus, ascend to the perilous summit as if 

 by a single effort ; and, on the other hand, to precipitate 

 himself from an eminence, alighting securely on the verge of 

 the precipice. It is believed by the hunters of the Alps, that, 

 when springing from a great height, he bends his head be- 

 neath his forelegs, so as to break his fall by striking the rock 

 with his horns. It is rather to be believed, that his power of 

 thus precipitating himself is due to his nice power of balanc- 

 ing his weight, and the conformation of the horny covering 

 of his feet. The female resembles the male, but her horns 

 are shorter, more slender, and less curved. She has two 

 mammee, forming an udder. She goes with young somewhat 

 more than twenty weeks, .and produces one, or often two, at 

 a birth. She receives the male about the end of October, so 

 that the kids may be born when the new shoots and leaves 

 of the vernal season appear. When about to give birth to 

 her young, she seeks some lonely place where she may be 

 safe from surprise, usually near some rivulet or spring, pro- 

 ceeding from the glaciers and mountains of snow which sur- 



